Rajasthan Government on 30th December appointed Nihal Chand Goel (59) as the new chief secretary of Rajasthan. He replaced Ashok Jain, who is retiring on December 31. Goel will hold charge for four months only. Along with being the chief secretary, Goel will also handle the additional responsibility of being the chairman of Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals, Udaipur, until further orders.

A 1982-batch officer, Goel was additional chief secretary (ACS) , forest and environment, tourism, art and culture department and additional chief secretary, coordination – mines and petroleum department, Rajasthan. Goel, who has done his masters in English Literature and then an MBA, has also served as the collector and district magistrate of Jaisalmer in 1990. He has also been the chairman and managing director of the Jaipur Metro Rail Corporation Limited. He is known for his excellent public dealing, leadership qualities and handling files.